The Farr Side: Grammy look-ahead: Best New Artist

The 60th annual Grammy Awards are Jan. 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and aired on CBS. It has been 15 years since the Grammys were held on the east coast.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Grammys. It marks the best of the best. It’s like the Super Bowl, but for music. The night commemorates the year in music while it dazzles with incredible live performances from some of music’s biggest stars. Plus, there are always some amazing collaborations between unlikely artists we often talk about for days afterwards.

In years past, I’ve usually agreed with most of the nominees, especially in the top four categories: Best New Artist, Record and Song of The Year, and Album of The Year. I’m having a more difficult time wrapping my head around the nominees this year. I’m actually shocked by some obvious omissions in major categories. Perhaps the biggest omission is Ed Sheeran, for his album “Divide.” In an age when singles have taken over, Sheeran managed to record an entire album worthy of attention.

Here’s my attempt to decipher the major categories.

Best New Artist is one of my favorites. I was never one to jump on the bandwagon other industry critics who called the honor the kiss of death for an artist.

Some have seen a Best New Artist win as a jinx. I, on the hand, have enjoyed watching the successes of numerous artists who won and have gone on to have major careers. Obvious success stories include Whitney Houston, Sade, Mariah Carey, Leann Rimes, Hootie & The Blowfish, Sheryl Crow, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones and Adele.

I know what you’re thinking — who are these people? Well, each has achieved chart success, some more than others.

I’m going out on a limb and predict Cara for the win. She has put out numerous hit singles since 2016 including “Here,” “Wild Things,” and the massively successful “Scars To Your Beautiful.” She also earned an Oscar nomination for “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana,” as well as having collaborative hits “Stay” (with Zedd) and “1-800-273-8255″ (with Logic, Khalid).

Cara hails from Canada, a country that has given us some of the most influential female artists in history, including Anne Murray, Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Alanis Morrissette. None of those ever won Best New Artist. Dion was not nominated for it, and Twain and Morrissette lost in 1996 to Hootie & The Blowfish. Cara might be able to break the Canadian shutout.

Khalis is well-liked by the music industry and Michaels is a successful songwriter, too. Lil Uzi Vert hasn’t done enough, musically speaking, to sway Grammy voters, so that leaves SZA.

If anyone could steal Cara’s thunder, it might be SZA. SZA received five overall nominations to Cara’s two, including Best Contemporary Album, Best R&B Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance. You may know her as guest female on Maroon ’s current hit single, “What Lovers Do.”

If you’re a Grammy aficionado like me, you’ll recall that just 13 years ago Maroon 5 took home a Grammy for Best New Artist. I think SZA made a wise decision collaborating with Adam Levine and the guys. It might help her win a Grammy.

— David T. Farr can be reached at farrboy@hotmail.com. You also can find The Farr Side on Facebook.

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